MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 1, 2013 – Ducks Unlimited announced today the winners of the 2013 Wetland Conservation Achievement Awards during the 78th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference held in Arlington, Va., at the Crystal Gateway Hyatt. This year's recipient of State/Provincial Agency award is Garret Graves.

Graves is the current chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA). The CPRA was established as the state agency leading protection, flood control, ecosystem restoration and other community efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Graves also serves as executive assistant to the governor for coastal activities. In this role, Graves advises the administration on policy issues related to offshore energy, fisheries, maritime and other uses of conservation and coastal resources.

"Following the Deepwater Horizon spill, President Obama appointed Garret to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force," said Bob Dew, DU regional biologist in Louisiana. "He is also the lead trustee for the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster and directs the state's oil spill recovery efforts. In this capacity, Garret collaborated with BP, federal agencies and Gulf states to negotiate an unprecedented $1 billion agreement for early restoration oil spill recovery projects in the gulf."

Graves has also served in an advisory capacity to Sen. John Breaux, Rep. Billy Tauzin and the House Energy Committee. Most recently, he was the staff director of the Climate Change and Impacts Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org. Connect with us on our Facebook page at facebook.com/DucksUnlimited, follow our tweets at twitter.com/DucksUnlimited and watch DU videos at youtube.com/DucksUnlimitedInc.

*Note: If you have a member login from the previous website, you may enter it here to access your My DU account. Visit our FAQ page for more details.

Choose Your Content

Welcome to your personalized My DU homepage! In addition to the exclusive web benefits for members, you can now personalize your own DU web page with the content that you care about the most. Select your favorite hunting, conservation and local information and you’ll see an instant summary each time your return to the page.

New features will be introduced to My DU in the coming weeks and months – so check back often.